In My "Spare" Time: Year 13, Week 43, Day One (week 689)

Year 13, Week 43, Day One (week 689)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-05-15 Saturday

76 degrees early morning, 80 degrees late afternoon. Blue sky overhead all day long, with puffs all around the horizon which encroached toward the center in the afternoon. The wind gusts tugged at hats and felt good otherwise. This weather report is brought to you by the City Of Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.

Everybody knew the weather would be good this weekend. That meant everybody was going to have a yard sale. You have people wanting money for Christmas, Also those wanting to make room for new stuff they might get for Christmas, and then you have people looking for good, inexpensive presents for Christmas, along with your regular yard sailors. That meant that everybody would be busy.
I was right. They were out in force. It made it nice where in many places, several people had sales close to each other, taking advantage of each other’s signs. In Deerfield, you have to get a permit and can only have two signs.

Mom and I hit a few yard sales together, before I went out on my own. I got a little bit carried away on my sales. I did skip several things that were great buys, but I already had several of them. A couple would have been worth getting if I knew what I would have bought later.....

There were so many yard sales, that I had gone only half the distance north that I intended, when noon came and I was wore out. I had spent my wad by then anyway.

My best buys were a pair of cast iron pans (I decided I am addicted to them and will do something about the addiction if I see it a problem), a kitchen knife sharpener, and a coat for when the temps get low enough, like when it gets below the 56 degree frost temperature down here...
One woman was going to give me a bunch of chop sticks and skewers. I gave her a few coins for them anyway. I can make the chopsticks into crochet hooks and I can use the skewers as dowels.
I got some other things at other yard sales but won’t list.

After lunch, I napped a little bit (really needed it), then went outside. Last week I had removed the heads of some tooth brushes and made the shafts roughly the same diameter to the handle. Today I made three of them into crochet hooks and made all the other shafts to a standard crochet-hook diameter.
I did have some fun. I have a extension cord with a set of plugs on the end that have switches and there is a breaker in it. I plugged the dremmel into it and it would not work. I searched the fixed plugs under the awning, trying to get them to work and nothing. I decided I was going to do as much as I could without power tools. I sanded with emery cloth and trimmed with the knife. On a lark, I plugged the dremmel directly into the plugs and it worked. That told me the problem was with the box. I did all my work and then looked at the box. I plugged the dremmel into it and flipped the switch. It worked. I did the other side and flipped the switch and it also worked.
The big problem with that box was that until this time, one of the switches would not work, with the plugs always on. Somehow, the switch decided to work and was set to the off position. The other side, which worked, was also in the off position and when I thought I flipped the switch, I must have flipped the other one. I found out that one plug, marked with a different color, is not effected by the switch. I never knew that after all these years. Sheesh!!!
It was getting past four and the sun was going down. I tested the three crochet hooks I made. As I held the tooth brushes as one is supposed to hold them, and I made the hooks, up, to the left, and down. I did not bother making a hook to the right. I gave each one a quick test and they worked, but need to be cleaned up and might need some adjustments. I will know what adjustments are needed after I test them out some more.

I was happy that I was able to get a project done today. I can check off this project and start on something else now.

I plan to do something tomorrow, but will have to see what it is.

Year 13, Week 43, Day Two (week 689)
(January 17, 2000 was my first carving day.)
12-06-15 Sunday

84 degrees as the high, hat pulling wind, puffs rushing past at high speeds with sneaky shower clouds leaping in to wet the ground and dashing away laughing. I would say the sky was half blue sky and there was sun showing between the clouds now and then. This weather report is brought to you by the Pompano Beach Department of Tourism.

On the way to Mom’s I stopped at a yard sale I visited yesterday. A whole bunch of giggling tiny TY BEANIE BABIES leaped on me and they started tickling me until I agreed to take them home. I will have to adopt them out, as the teddy bears I already have do not want any competition for my love.

A shower passed by while I was indoors at a strip mall before I headed to Mom’s.

At Mom’s I set up the work table, got out my tools and got to work on the snowman bodies I made a couple weeks ago. I used a couple dowels I got yesterday to make arms for them. I used a fine drill to make a starter hole, in the bodies, then a bigger drill to open the hole more, then used a grinding bit the right size to drill into the holes so the dowels would fit inside. I stuck the dowels in the holes, marked the length, then cut them off before dumping glue into the holes and inserting the dowels. I intend to have packages or something in the arms I added so they are straight out. The one body that has the hat, I put the arms to the side and aiming down.
The figures I was copying had arms turned with some shape, but I am gong the easy way on this, this time. I will do a little carving on them and some will get hair made from yarn.

My brother needed to get to a grinder so I had pulled a bunch of stuff out. That allowed me to use the lathe, which still had the sanding disk mounted on it, to clean up some oak blocks I had cut that might work as a couple of the presents.

I was just about finished with the last one when a few drips starting coming down. I rushed to put everything away. I had plenty to do. The table, which was the last thing to put away, was getting nice an wet when I folded it up.
We sat and talked a short time before the dinner bell rang.
I headed home after lunch, satisfied I had some accomplishments for the day.

I have ideas for projects for next weekend. I do expect yard sales if the weather is good. Ideas for wood working is coming in fast and furious now that I have actually done something.

I will see what happens next week.